The city of Detroit has developed a rich Hip-Hop resume over the years with contributions from the likes of Eminem, Slum Village, and the late great J Dilla. Newer heads like Guilty Simpson are also making noise. Another name that is helping to further solidify the D’s status in the Rap game, is MC / producer Black Milk.
Black Milk came up on the Detroit scene making beats for a who’s who of the Detroit Hip-Hop scene; Slum Village, Dilla, Phat Kat, Elzhi and the like. His latest release, The Set Up (Music House) is an album that features his homey Fat Ray who gets co-billing on the release.
The first cut “Flawless” has Milk spitting braggadocio-filled bars over some grimy funk, as he fills us in on what goes on at the strip clubs in the D: “N****s run to the club like hoes just to make rain / My N****s run to the club just to take chains / A N**** might get killed for his fake chain / And this what happens every weekend!”
On “Bad Man” with Guilty Simpson and Scorpion, Black Milk provides a bouncy West Coast beat featuring plinking piano keys reminiscent of Dre’s “Still D.R.E.” Fat Ray aggressively warns us that he’s the type of cat you’d find, “selling cocaine out of Costco / or eatin’ fried rice at a Roscoe’s,” while Guilty desperately tells us, “I’m walking on blocks in new Nikes / Risky / I’m staring at a pitch with two strikes.”
Other standout tracks include “Take Control” featuring AB which features a complex yet soulful beat, as well as “Get Focus” featuring Phat Kat and Elzhi and the spaghetti-western styled “Ugly.”
Minus one or two mediocre joints (“Not U”), we are served with top-notch production courtesy of Milk and solid lyrics from all that hit the booth. If this first collaboration album with Fat Ray is any indication what Black Milk can produce, then heads are definitely going to roll for the rumored collaboration project Random Axe featuring Milk, Sean Price and Guilty which is set to drop later this year. Whoah.
Fat Ray & Black Milk
“Ugly”
Fat Ray & Black Milk featuring Guilty Simpson and Scorpio
“Bad Man”